Forum:Who, or what, is Eli Vance?
By way of prefacing my question, let me say that I know what the helpful Eli Vance page says. But that page overlooks something that I think is important, which I'm bringing up here for some discussion. At the end of Episode II, when the Advisor flew into the hangar, Gordon and Alyx were suspended (as they had been previously) against the wall by the Advisor's telekinetic abilities. This telekinetic ability is represented by flowing green lines emanating from the Advisor toward the target it's manipulating. However, Eli was not suspended against the wall, or held against his will by telekinetic force; indeed, when the Advisor tries, you can see the telltale green lines bouncing off of Eli - and he isn't subdued until the Advisor physically grabs hold of him. This all leads me to the question: What don't we know about Eli Vance? Is it possible that he isn't human - or at least, that he isn't entirely human? As a further piece of evidence supporting this "nonhuman" theory, recall the Gman's speech to Alyx earlier in Episode II: "Now, listen carefully my dear. When you see your...father...relay these words: Prepare for unforeseen consequences." Gman quite obviously hesitated before calling Eli her father; was this hesitation because of the Gman's characteristically strange speaking style, or was it his way of communicating to us (the player) that Eli isn't actually Alyx's father - at least, not in a biological sense? We can't be certain; but the idea that Eli isn't actually human (and therefore, isn't actually Alyx's father) is bolstered by his resistance to the Advisor's telekinesis. Obviously, none of this can be definitively answered from canon at this point (so far as I know, anyway)...but these unanswered questions do lead to an exciting, if remote possibility: Might Eli Vance, in some form or other, return for Episode III? :Eli is an alien from outer space that is secretly working with the Combine. You will have to kill him in Episode 3 in order to get the Portal Gun. Darkman 4 05:29, 22 December 2008 (UTC) ::I'm really impressed by this idea. I'd never really paid much attention to this particular aspect of episode 2 (although I had wondered about the g-mans' hesitation prior to the word father), and this idea really appeals to me. Although I think it would be wrong to bring Eli back, it's important that Valve demonstrate that the fight against the combine isn't going smoothly, I think it is certainly something that should come back to haunt us. This also leads me into another point quite nicely, which is the question of who Alyxs' father really is. Certainly, it is someone that the g-man has a particular dislike for, hence his apparent dislike of Alyx. The plot thickens...(Dylan) :::Also G-man hesitates to say friends and menacingly laugh a single "ha" about the vortigaunts. 21:37, 23 December 2008 (UTC) ::::Interesting theory, and one far less far fetched than most I've heard. --MattyDienhoff 08:35, 25 December 2008 (UTC) What if Eli is the same species as the G-Man? Perhapse, instead of the whole "Following rules" that the G-Man portrayes, he is instead like a guardian Angle of Earth, that gave up his powers and what not? Would make sense, but, upon reflection, that seem mighty shaky... "Frog blast the vent core!" --Commander Xillian 23:37, 27 January 2009 (UTC) I have heard that Eli is first seen as the scientist comforting another scientist shortly after the resonance cascade disaster. "Gordon, you're alive, thank God for that Hazard Suit...". BennyTatz 11:28, April 21, 2010 (UTC) If Eli really is a guardian angel, why did he choose Alyx? I mean, for something with (maybe) some sort of inhuman power, why pick Alyx, unless she is destined to give her life for the greater good, at some point, and have to protect her until that point... Oh, and that brings me to my second point, did Eli know, or even plan, maybe, on dying at White Forest? Ellipsis... 23:48, 30 January 2009 (UTC) Because. If the G-man has some idea about what the future holds, so would he. That, or he saw something that made him love her. It's not impossible that he just fell in love with her mom, you know. Maybe he didn't chose Alyx, but instead chose her mother? Also, it's not entirely possible that he fore-saw that. maybe he did, maybe he didn't. But, what I find odd is, did he stand back, or was he tossed aside. I'm going to play threw real quick, and check that out. I checked it out. He seems to strugle when getting up. This could be because the Advisors planned to kill him, so pinned him to the floor, thus letting him have an advantage. But, what i don't get, is how can a man in his prime be stuck to a wall, while an old-man with a prostetic resist the psycic prowess of an advisor? There might be something to this, even after the little debunk I posted. "Frog blast the vent core!"--Commander Xillian 04:45, 31 January 2009 (UTC) An Old Job a New Possibility I think that Eli Vance could have possibly worked at Aperture Science. Why well because he knows whatever is in the Borealis could be extremely dangerous. Now i know i don't have that much to back my theory up but it makes sense it would explain why he knows and why he wants it to be destroyed. I know off subject from what everyone else was talking about but hey its still Who is Eli Vance right? Eli Vance's so called Immunity to Telekinetic Powers I don't think that hes "Immune" but rather the Combine Adviser didn't think of him as a threat. Or the fact that if he was pinned against the wall it would be hard for Gordan (And the player as well) to see Eli get killed. Thanks for the comments guys, but please don't forget to sign once you've done with the infamous 4 "~". So, first to confront the suggestion that Eli may have worked for Apeture. We know that Apeture and BM were in direct competition for funding, so I see no reason to doubt that what Eli knows is simply through industrial espionage and the general information that BM would gain access to WRT their competitors. If he had worked for Apeture, surely he would give more specifics as to what could be found aboard the Borealis. On the subject of telekinetic immunity; If we presume that the advisors did not consider Eli a threat, and as such did not pin him, then we must ask ourselves why can "telekinetic rays" be seen bouncing off him? Alternatively, the theory that being pinned against a wall would make the events harder for the player to see doesn't hold up well. All you would need to do is move Freeman to a different wall, and he could see everything from a better vantage spot. Keep the theories coming guys, I like hearing what people think.Dylan Bobson 13:01, 9 February 2009 (UTC) I didn't even notice the reflected rays when I played this. This is very interesting...--ImWithFreeman 03:45, 17 February 2009 (UTC) Here's a new Idea... What if Eli was a Marine in his younger-years. It would help to explain why a Scientist, both missing a leg AND holding a baby and a picture, could get outta Black-Mesa. I don't expect this to go anywhere, but I mean, what if it is just mental conditioning? Say, he was not going to give up. Seeing your daughter in mortal peril would probably give most of us, or anyone, the will to whack that advisor, right?Just an idea. Rather sappy, I know. "Frog blast the vent core!"--Commander Xillian 15:32, 17 February 2009 (UTC) Interestingly, throughout that description, I could see Harrison Ford running about telling people that he wants his family back. But seriously, I disagree with this idea. It's a nice romantic image, very Hollywood, but not to my liking. Firstly, we don't know that Eli lost his leg in BM (to my knowledge), I'd always presumed it was something that happened either when he was almost out, or after he'd escaped. Nextly, this presumes that Eli was alone, which we can almost definitely rule out (as the last time he's seen ingame he's with Kleiner, so it is presumed that they escape together). Further more, there is the knowledge of the advanced access that Eli would have, allowing him to leave by a different, easier path to that which Freeman takes (to be honest, between him and Kleiner, I doubt that there is anywhere they would not be able to reach). My theory on the subject of Elis' escape is that he and Kleiner tracked Freeman using his HEV suit after he left (another scientist mentions doing something similar later on in the game), and upon discovering the nature of military intervention, run for it. With their access, they would undoubtedly be able to access an alternative tramway system, which could take them to Elis' dormitories, no doubt finding weaponry on the way. The path they would be taking, being through a set of high level access doorways, would lack any military presence, and would probably have very few aliens to deal with. Upon reaching Elis' accomodation, it would be showing the early stages of a skirmish between the military and Xenians, with civilians running all over the place. Working their way through here (possibly with others working with them by this point), they would find Elis' room slightly too late to save Azian, but just in time to save Alyx (and undoubtedly grabbing the picture on the way out). From here on it would merely be a matter of escape from the facility, which would probably not be difficult, considering that by this point they are on the surface with high level access. Anyway, having deviated sufficiently, I'll shut up now.Dylan Bobson 20:58, 17 February 2009 (UTC) Eli lost his leg to a Bullsquid when he and Kleiner were trying to climb over a wall into City 17. "I'm Concerned that I'm worse than life." --Dr. Frohman 06:14, October 16, 2009 (UTC) Now, I know that he lsot his leg to a bullsquid, but I thought it was during the BM incident.. And, yes, it is quite possible for just one guy to do insane stuff. Freeman ring any bells? Also, I think that Izzy (Kliener) wasn't at the Zero-Mass Spectrometer during the experiment, cause I think Barney runs into him. Still, I don't know first hand (Can't play BLueshift...) so I could just be banging my head into the wrong wall, but hey; Stranger things have happened.--Commander Xillian 07:42, October 16, 2009 (UTC) If you pay attention, they never mention once in BS that the Calhoun your playing as is Barney Calhoun. Somewhere in the Developer Commentary of one of the HL2 games they mention this. But that if that Calhoun is Barney Calhoun, he never runs into Kleiner in BS, so he would've had to run into him at another point in those 20 mysterious years between HL 1 and 2. Edje123 00:59, October 17, 2009 (UTC) Well, seeing as it tells you at the beginning of Blue Shift you're Barney Calhoun, and this is his name in HL2, and there are numerous references during HL2 and episode 1 to him working in Black Mesa as a security guard, it's kinda not a massive leap of the imagination to assume. In addition, they look pretty much the same (given acceptable deviation for graphic changes). I mean, by the same logic, you could argue that you play a different Gordon Freeman in both games. Also, you should probably notice that the Black Mesa incident is not Barneys' first day in Black Mesa. He has had months, possibly years, to get to know Kleiner. More than that, they are both escaping from the facility at the same time, and there aren't going to be that many options for safe routes once they make it out of the facility, on the basis that they're in the middle of a massive dessert. Most likely, they both head for the nearest city, and cross paths on the way. Shit. Forgot to sign in again. I'll come back and sign this properly later. Dylan Bobson.